Reasons I Love My Neighborhood

Last night I went out with my friend Rose to this bar by my house that I consider one of the best kept secrets in Bushwick (while I will not reveal its name, I will say that it is in the vicinity of Maria Hernandez park.) I stumbled in here on accident once and the owner was not only beyond accommodating to my gluten allergy but he cooks the best falafel I’ve ever had, makes food til all hours, and has ridiculous stories about threatening people with shovels. Now every time I go there he tells me the specials and how he would make it ‘for me.’ Last night’s special involved okra in a tomato-pomegranate sauce over rice, with a side of falafel. It was, as always, amazing. Another perk is that this bar is NEVER crowded. I have never had a problem grabbing a seat at the bar, even on a Saturday night.

So when Rose and I walked in last night, the owner/bartender/chef/one-person-show yelled ‘ah, my favorite customers’ and placed our favorite drinks on the bar, then fed us a feast of Lebanese food as he challenged us to a latenight game of pool. I sat out a few games of Eight-Ball while I curated the playlist (ELO to Mumford and Sons, Prince to Ghostland Observatory, Jackson 5 to Lykke Li, the ipod in the place surprised me), as Ali shut down the bar but for the 5 of us around the pool table. Before going home, I played a couple games of Nine-Ball (I won both, shoulder brush) while taking full advantage of the rare opportunity to smoke inside a bar and drink after hours. Then, when I finally set out to settle my tab before the 4-block walk home, the owner told me to ‘leave it alone’ and that tonight was on him.

Walking home, I ran across two boys on the street: one dancing around, the other videotaping. As I approached, the videographer started and goes ‘we’re totally normal I promise.’ Then they walked me home as they explained their celebratory dance was a consequence of some manner of good news. The sun was almost rising at this point.

THEN when I arrived at my building, I went upstairs and hung out with my neighbors as we watched part of Breaking Away and ate baked apples over ice cream.

Such a low-key, late night: lots of booze, no crowds, ridiculous encounters, and not a dollar spent. Courtesy of Bushwick.